I went to Taiwan for a self-driving tour around the island during the Spring Festival. Hualien was the fifth city I arrived in. Arrived at the hotel in the evening to check in, opened the door of the balcony of the guest room, and a burst of lively music came. A road away is the annual Pacific Lantern Festival in Hualien, Taiwan, so I put down my luggage and went directly to the scene of the lantern show.
Hualien is the largest county in Taiwan Province. The seat of the county is called "Hualien City". People who usually travel when they arrive in Hualien are actually in Hualien City. Don't underestimate Hualien City, which belongs to this county. It is the largest city on the eastern coast of Taiwan, with a population of more than 100,000 residents. Since 2012, Hualien City will hold a grand lantern festival every year during the Lunar New Year. Almost every lantern festival can attract millions of tourists.
Hualien County is a place with a very special geographical location. Its area is narrow and long, with a maximum width of 43 kilometers from east to west and a length of 137 kilometers from north to south. In the east-west direction, the mountains of Taiwan Island are to the west and the Pacific Ocean is to the east. In Hualien in the past, when the current coastal roads were not opened, one had to take a sea ship to enter and leave Hualien. Therefore, Hualien is also called "outlying islands on land". It is a relatively late city developed in Taiwan and has a large number of aborigines.
After the Linhai Highway was opened to traffic in 1932, the traffic conditions in Hualien were improved. Today people say that the most beautiful eastern coastal highway in Taiwan is the Suhua Highway built on the basis of the Linhai Highway back then. The place where this road faces the Pacific Ocean has the famous Qixingtan, Qingshui Cliff and other landscapes. It is also a must-visit place for tourists to Hualien. Of course, during the New Year, viewing lanterns in Hualien is also a grand festival.
This year's Pacific Lantern Festival in Hualien still chooses a place close to the Hualien Dongdamen Night Market, which is called the "Sixth Phase Exhibition Area" locally, and the other water exhibition area is in the Liyu Lake Scenic Area. The hotel I stayed in is right next to the "Sixth Phase Exhibition Area". When you come out of the hotel, you can enter the gate of the Lantern Festival. Tickets are not charged for the Hualien Lantern Festival, and tourists can come and go as they please.
The sixth phase of the exhibition area is actually an open space the size of a football field. In the center is the main lantern with a height of 15 meters. This year is the year of the pig, and the natural lantern is shaped like a wild boar. In Taiwan, wild boar has always been the most famous specialty. There are roasted wild boar and red sausage made of wild boar on the night market. When I was visiting Sun Moon Lake, I bought three boar sausages for NT$100, which were quite delicious.
The exhibition area of the entire Lantern Festival has a shape similar to ocean waves and is matched with cute sea creatures; there is a lighting area for children's favorite interactive games, where children step on LED lights to the beat of the music, allowing children to use their unlimited imagination in the interaction; To create a colorful and splendid light area for welcoming the spring with a hundred flowers blooming in spring; there is also a light area for imagery of Hakka culture with rich and festive Hakka flower cloth. Walking in the exhibition area, it really makes people feel full of flowers and dazzled.
In a corner of the exhibition area, the organizer also set up a large stage with creative performances by actors and various 3D interactive images, leading the audience into a fantasy light and shadow journey exclusive to Hualien. The interval between each performance is about ten minutes, and visitors can stop and watch at will. On one side of the stage, there is a light tunnel hundreds of meters long.
This year is the seventh year of the Hualien New Year Lantern Festival. As a traditional festival event, the organizers are trying to attract more people to visit Hualien to see the lanterns. In fact, the Hualien Lantern Festival has not been smooth sailing until today. In 2017, 1.4 million tourists came to Hualien to watch the lanterns. The New Year Lantern Festival in 2018 happened to be a big typhoon, which once blew the large steel frame of the scenery in the sixth phase of the exhibition area. Fortunately, no one was injured.
After passing through the sixth phase of the exhibition area, you can come to the most famous Dongdamen Night Market in Hualien. I believe that most tourists like me to visit night markets in Taiwan. Because the night market not only gathers local delicacies and snacks, but also has a wealth of tourist souvenirs. Those who want to watch aboriginal performances can also find them in the night market. It can be said that the night market in Taiwan is a colorful cultural street.
Dongdamen Night Market is a combination of the original "Fucho Night Market", "Aboriginal Street" and "Provinces Street". The second half of the original Aboriginal Street is Hualien's earliest " Ziqiang Night Market” has now been demolished. The combined three night markets are larger in scale, and it will take three to four hours to visit them all.
Appreciating the lantern festival, visiting the night market, the nightlife is full after arriving in Hualien. People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait like to celebrate the traditional Chinese New Year. If you are lucky enough to come to Hualien during the festival, remember to watch the Lantern Festival. The closing date of this year's Lantern Festival will not end until February 24. About the author: Lu Jianhua Photography (photographer, traveler, self-media person)